As Water Flows
by Subverted
Summary: James Sunderland never made it out of the hell that is Silent Hill. Eri Sarka is a woman who is being unwillingly dragged back to that dark place. Revised and re-published. I plan to actually finish this one. Please review.
1. Prologue: Insomnia

A/N: Silent Hill and all its characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Konami. Eri Sarka and Kieran however, are my own creations, and do belong to me.

**As Water Flows**

By Subverted.

It was two a.m, and Eri had finally given up all hope of sleeping.

With a grunt, she heaved herself out of bed and shuffled her way to the small bathroom adjacent to it, flicking on the light and taking a moment to observe her appearance. Light blue, almost grey eyes stared blankly back at her, surrounded by a halo of unkempt strawberry-blond hair. She leaned in closer; the dark circles around her eyes were there as always, ever present testimony to the fact that sleeping was not a luxury she could always afford. Coupled with her thin, narrow face and pale skin, the effects made her look a little sickly. What few friends she had had been making off-handed comments lately about her appearance, concerned that she was becoming unwell.

She winced as a sharp stab of pain suddenly lanced its way through her temples, the first telltale sign that she was experiencing the beginnings of another migraine. She had been getting them rather frequently as of late, and had gone to the doctor, concerned. A C.A.T scan had revealed nothing unusual, so the doctor's diagnosis had been stress, which in turn caused her insomnia and migraines. The stupid quack had tried to get her on some new-age herbal remedy bullshit but Eri had quickly demanded painkillers, thank you very much. Snorting lines of powdered jasmine and listening to Enya didn't fucking relieve pain; ibuprofen however was a different matter. And even though the taste of the drug was bitter in her mouth as she washed it down with water from the tap, she was still satisfied that one of her problems, for now, had been dealt with.

She dressed quickly and checked her reflection once more before grabbing her bag and heading for the front door. She was more restless than usual; late-night outings were not something she indulged in, but tonight she felt strangely compelled to go out and just do something.

_Shit. I need a hobby._

_

* * *

  
_

It had started raining the moment she had stepped outside.

She didn't mind the rain, actually rather enjoyed it, and smiled softly to herself as she drove aimlessly through South Ashfield, not caring where she was going. She tapped her fingers absentmindedly in time with the music blaring from the radio, and relaxed further into the driver's seat, enjoying the soothing motions of the car as it hummed along the freeway. She sighed, content.

Pain, sharp and cold, hit her in a sudden wave, as though someone had just thrown a bucket of ice-cold water into her face. She gritted her teeth against the discomfort, and tried to ignore it by focusing her concentration solely on the road ahead of her.

_It'll go away. Just keep driving._

It passed, and she allowed her body to relax once again from the stiff posture it had immediately curled itself into. She breathed deeply, trying to clear the irritation from her the gloom ahead she spotted a street sign, and she strained her eyes trying to make out the words as she neared it.

_**Next Exit-Silent Hill. 200 Miles.**_

_Oh hell no…_

She was still very far away, it usually took a good three to four hours to reach the outskirts of the town, and that was when the weather was good. Still, the idea of being anywhere near that place made cold dread settle into the pit of her stomach. She hadn't even set foot there since...

_Kieran…_

The pain returned again, shooting all the way into her brain and down her spine. It was so sudden and fierce that she couldn't help but cry out a little, startled and frightened by the unexpected onslaught.

_Oh fuck._

It began to grow in intensity, invisible shards of agony that tore along the nerves of her scalp, dragging nails against glass and bone that caused an insufferable, high pitched whine to reverbrate through her skull, blocking out all other sound. She clutched at her head with one hand, and glared hard at the road, trying to regain her focus, but the reflection of the cars headlights on the black asphalt made stars explode before her eyes. The torture going on inside her head erupted into a white hot frenzy of sound and images and agony and OHMYGODKIERAN

The car swerved dangerously and bolted off the road. It hit a ditch, bounced rather unceremoniously, and then slammed head first into a tree.

Thankfully Eri had possessed enough foresight to purchase a car with airbags. The force of it exploding in her face, however, was the final straw, and with a quiet, almost resigned groan, she slipped into darkness.

Towering just above the tree into which the car had collided stood an old weather-beaten sign. The words were faded and peeling, but were still perfectly legibile.

_**Welcome to Silent Hill.**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

Blood. And someone humming.

_KieranohmygodKieranbreathejustbreathepleasebreathedoitforAuntieEri-_

She could taste blood.

She moaned inwardly, the pain and the blood being the first things she registered as she was unwillingly dragged back into the land of the living. It wasn't just her head now; there was a dull throbbing ache all down her right side. Her lip felt sore and swollen; that was probably where the blood was coming from, she must have split her lip…

She was wet too. Wet all over. And someone was still humming.

_Oh shut the hell up…_

Painfully, slowly, she opened her eyes. Her vision swam; everything seemed too dark and then suddenly too bright. The onset of visual stimuli caused her head to screech in protest, and she hastily shut them again, trying to block out the pain.

More humming. It was closer now, very close. Right beside her ear. She was sure she felt the stirring of warm breath on her wet skin. She jerked, trying to move away, and succeeded only in splashing clumsily around.

_Wait…water? Where am I?_

She opened her eyes again, and although it hurt terribly, tried to focus on her surroundings. Everything was still blurry and indistinct, but she could make out the shapes of her own legs floating before her, surrounded by what appeared to be a rim of white. She saw movement out the corner of her eye, and turned her head towards it. A shape, tall, dark and definitely human, loomed over her. It appeared to lean down, towards her, and she yelped in fear, trying to scoot away.

"Hush, Mary. I know you don't like this, but it has to be done."

A splash of water against her chest. She realized suddenly that she was naked, and her fear grew ten-fold. She struggled, trying to sit up, and a hand, large, warm and definitely male, gripped her by the shoulder, holding her in place firmly.

"Mary, please" The man's tone was strained, a little desperate sounding. "There's no need to be ashamed. We're husband and wife, remember? I love you."

_Mary? Wha- oh my god_

Something soft was being rubbed against her skin…a sponge. It travelled across her shoulder, down her arm and over her lap. The fear already permeating her to the very core transformed into full-blown panic as she felt it and the hand holding it disappear beneath the water, down towards her crotch.

She shrieked, struggling and kicking and failing out blindly at the shape, at the man, leaning over her. Her knee connected with something solid, perhaps his chest or his stomach, and he fell back with a pained grunt. She continued to scream, furious now at the violation of her personal space.

"**DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"**

Her answer was a choked sob. She saw him heave himself off the floor and crawl towards her. The shape of him seemed curled and pained, like he had just committed some terrible sin and had come to beg forgiveness.

"Mary! Please! I-I didn't mean it! I just…"

She howled, at tried to claw at where she guessed his face would be. Her head began to clang loudly with pain again, and she knew it was only a matter of seconds before she passed out. She just hoped she could do enough damage to him before…

He jerked back and crumpled to the floor, trembling. When he spoke again his voice was soft and wavering. He sounded like he was crying.

"Please…please forgive me.."

The last things she was aware of before she slipped off once again were the sounds of running footsteps, of a door slamming somewhere nearby, and of a single thought running constantly through her head.

_Who the hell is Mary?_

This is my first Silent Hill fic, and I would really appreciate constructive reviews and comments. Thanks for taking the time to read my work.

Subverted


	2. Room 312

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review so far. The encouragement from your comments is highly appreciated.

**As Water Flows**

**Chapter One: Room 312**

Eri was blessedly alone when she awoke again some time later.

The agony that had vibrated constantly through her skull had ceased, and when she opened her eyes a clear vision of the room greeted her. She did not feel completely whole; there were still several areas on her body that felt particularly tender and bruised, but now that the raging inferno behind her eyes had cooled, she now felt she could get a proper grasp of the situation before her.

The man was gone, and she surmised that she had been alone for quite some time; the water sloshing around her was cool and stained pink with blood. Raising a hand gingerly to her face she hissed in discomfort as her fingertips brushed against the cut on her lower lip, soft and congealed with blood. The flesh just under her right eye felt somewhat puffy and swollen; and there was a warm throbbing behind her ear, leaning towards the centre of her head. She searched through the tangled strands of hair, finding the source of the pain, and when she brought her fingers back around to examine them they were smeared with faint traces of blood. Although painful, the wound didn't seem all that serious; she was more worried about the fact that she was naked.

_That...that asshole undressed me!-_

The thought that a stranger, and a man at that, had had the audacity to undress her while she was practically comatose filled her with a barely suppressed rage. What the hell kind of person does that?

She lurched to her feet too quickly and yelped as a fresh wave of pain bolted all the way up her right side. She wobbled unsteadily and almost toppled, but managed to grab onto one of the side taps for support. She looked down and discovered its source; a large, ugly bruise, all mottled black and purple, ran down across her ribs almost to her hipbone. Eri decided that she must have landed heavily on the gearstick or something, when the car had-

_Oh shit. The FUCKING CAR._

She gotten the mother of all headaches and had run off the road, smashing the car into a tree or something and the last thing she remembered was a sign that said Silent Hill and not being able to breathe because of that fucking airbag where the hell was she?

She all but scrambled out of the tub, a fresh wave of panic setting in as the images began to grow brighter and stronger within her mind. She remembered going out for a drive because she couldn't sleep, remembered that it had been fun until the headache from hell, remembered that Silent Hill was two oh something miles away and the airbag deploying in her face, but couldn't for the life of her figure out how she had made it from her car to…to…here.

She glared hard at the tub, as if she hoped it would secretly divulge the answer she wanted. The water moved sluggishly, the sponge bobbing harmlessly on its surface. A sudden pang of shame stabbed her.

_Was he-_

She felt guilty and embarrassed all at once. Despite the constant ache of her injuries, she did not feel as though she had been violated in any way. What had she really woken up to? Someone trying to abuse and take advantage of her? Or a person that had been genuinely trying to help her by bathing her wounds?

Whatever he had been doing, it made little difference now. She just wanted to get the fuck out of here. There were some towels folded neatly over a rack to her right, she grabbed the closest one and wrapped it around herself, instantly beginning to feel more confident. The single door to the bathroom was thankfully unlocked, and she pushed it open, stepping into a large, beige coloured room. There was a large double bed resting against the wall opposite her, along with a vanity mirror and other pieces of very expensive looking antique her right were two large windows, and despite the impressiveness of their size she could nothing beyond them; the view was completely white and devoid of anything, as if the world beyond the windows had simply ceased to exist. Eri frowned.

…_fog?_

A comfortable looking armchair sat before the non-existent view, accompanied by an old-fashioned television and V.C.R. The T.V was on; grey static flickered and hummed aimlessly on the screen, but what drew her attention was the chair. Draped over the back of its headrest were her clothes and shoulder bag, all folded and neatly arranged. She dressed herself quickly and efficiently, not bothering to try and stay out of the sight of the windows like anyone's gonna see me through fog that thick and snatched up her bag, quickly rifling through its contents to make sure nothing was missing. Surprising, everything was still in its proper place; she'd had no cash with her to start with, but what caught her the most was that the small pocket knife she kept with her was also untouched. She began to feel guilty again. If that man had harboured any ill will towards her, wouldn't he have gotten rid of it? Surely he would have felt that it would have been easier to…deal with her if she'd hadn't possessed something to defend herself with?

_Or maybe he's the type that likes to play with his food before he eats it._

Eri shuddered, and slipped the knife quickly into the back pocket of her jeans.

There was little else in the room that held her interest, it all seemed fairly normal, although she did notice with a faint raise of her eyebrows that the bed, although immaculately made, had a fine layer of dust on it. She shrugged it off, however, and walked as briskly as she could towards the front door, wincing at the burning pain that shot up her side with every step. She grasped the knob and pulled it open…

And stepped into total blackness.

The shock from going from a relatively well lit room to utter darkness startled her, and she cursed as the abrupt shock caused her to trip awkwardly over her own feet. She flung both arms out behind her, managing to grab hold of the wall, and blinked rapidly, trying to get her eyes to adjust. The door she had just come out of had closed with a decisive click, and she groped blindly around behind her for the handle. Her fingers closed around something round and smooth; she turned and pushed.

It didn't budge.

_Shit._ She leaned against the cool wooden frame and tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart. After a few long moments her vision began to adjust; she could make out the shape of the door in front of her, the dull grey of the walls on either side. Something on the door caught her attention; three numbers, perhaps made of brass or copper, were melded to the door's surface. The number was 312.

Eri stared at it dumbly, the intellectual processes of her brain creaking over sluggishly because of the fact she probably had a concussion and wait, she really needed to find a doctor before-

Something creaked behind her; she gasped and spun around, hand instinctively going for the knife. She squinted in the gloom but could make out very little; she appeared to be in the middle of a hallway of sorts, and she thought she could just make out the shape of a doorway at the end of it. It was deathly silent, the only sounds being her breathing and the blood pumping through her veins. Of course there was nothing there, and she swallowed thickly and began to stride purposefully towards the door at the end of the hall, cursing herself for such childish behaviour.

_You're twenty-five. Act like it._

She was relieved to find that the door was unlocked, and further gladdened when she stepped into a room that was much larger and was thankfully not quite as dark. Light streamed in lazily from in between half drawn curtains, and she noticed with a frown that she could pick out individual particles of dust drifting in the shafts of light. The walls were stained with mildew, the wallpaper peeling away in large sections to reveal rotted wood underneath. Large sections of the carpet were torn or burned through, and as she walked across what she could now identify as a balcony the floorboards beneath her feet groaned. The whole place looked, and smelled, utterly decrepit. It also seemed to be abandoned.

"Hello? Anyone here?"

The hall was silent, and cautiously she made her way across the balcony and down the main flight of stairs. There was something standing at the end of the stairs, it looked like a clock, but as she drew nearer she saw that it was actually an antique music box, with three small figures that spun round in time to the music when the contraption was wound up. Eri felt a sharp pang of recognition as she stared at the thing. Unwittingly her gaze was drawn to the gold plaque that had been fixed to the polished oak surface.

'_**The Lakeview Hotel-Celebrating Fifty Years Of History And Culture'**_

She felt sick. _The Lakeview Hotel. That means I'm in Silent Hill. How the hell did I get here?! I was still half a day's drive away from this shit-hole how in God's name I manage to end up here up of all the luck this is the last place I want to be RIGHT NOW._

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She whirled around and stalked to the double doors, flinging them open with a lot more force than necessary. She felt nauseous; anger and anxiety churned in her gut all at once. She wanted nothing more than to get out of here, this place stirred nothing but unpleasant memories for her, and the last thing she wanted right now was to re-open old wounds.

She ground her teeth together and strode purposefully into the fog.

* * *

Outside the air was bitterly cold, the fog so thick she could feel the moisture condense inside her lungs as she breathed. She pulled her coat tighter around herself, trying to contain as much warmth within its folds as possible, and blinked her eyes as they began to water from the chill of the air. She knew it wasn't unusual for the town to experience fog; that fact that it surrounded such a large body of water like Tolcua Lake meant that practically every morning there was as least a sliver of mist covering parts of the town. But in all the times she had been here, she had not seen fog this thick. It obscured her vision to within ten to fifteen feet ahead of her, making it difficult to see directly ahead. The intensity of the cold surprised her; it was the middle of spring, yet here it felt as though the town was locked in perpetual winter. She shivered and quickened her pace, hoping that by keeping on the move she could fight off the cold. The fog made it ridiculously hard to see, but she had a good idea of where to go.

_I'm on Sandford Street right now. If I just keep following it I should get to Nathan Avenue, which will take me straight into Old Silent Hill. Then maybe I can find the police station and find ou-_

She stopped dead in her tracks, suddenly realising.

There was no one here.

Just like in the hotel, she seemed to be completely alone. It wasn't just the street itself; the solitude and isolation seemed to extend out from the town itself to the surrounding environment. Now, as she stood still, she realized that not only see she see practically nothing through the fog, she could also hear nothing. Normally she would have been able to make out the distant sounds of birds and animals in the surrounding wilderness; signs of human life such as traffic and the far, murmuring voices of people in conversation. But here there was nothing. It was dead.

She felt the chill crawl back up her spine again, just as it had done in the hotel. Fear, slow but determined, began to sink into her belly, coiling and twisting like some malevolent worm. She hadn't felt this way in a long time, not since...

_Not since Kieran died._

She breathed deeply, the cold air stinging the inside of her nostrils, and called out into the stagnant air.

"Hello?"

The sound of her voice did not echo so much as it was consumed by the silence around her. She felt the fear tighten in her chest, heart beginning to hammer unevenly inside her ribcage. She really, really wanted to leave. Right now.

She took off again at a brisk jog, noting with quiet panic the seemingly abandoned vehicles that were parked in both directions on the street, as well as the derelict shops and storefronts. Three years ago, when she had last walked down this street, it had been pulsing, alive. Tourists and locals alike had mingled both in the street and in the various bars and shops. Now the place looked like it had been empty for twenty years or more. It just wasn't possible. If something had happened here, especially on such a large a scale as to cause everyone in the entire town to disappear, wouldn't she have heard about it? Nearly five thousand people couldn't just disappear off the face of the earth without someone noticing, could they?

Could they?

She suddenly heard a faint tap-tap-tap coming from somewhere ahead of her. The sound was instantly recognisable. Footsteps.

_Oh thank God._

The street widened out onto a T intersection and she realized she had made it to where Nathan Avenue and Sandford Street connected. She halted and looked around wildly; the footsteps had faded almost as suddenly as they began, and she feared she had lost whoever had made them.

There. Heading east on Nathan Avenue, towards the centre of Old Silent Hill. The shadow was visible for only a few brief moments before it slipped into the fog once again, but it was unmistakably that of a child's, running away from her. She kicked into full sprint, heading after it.

"Hey you!"

She thought she heard a mischievously delighted giggle float back out at her from the mist, and ground her teeth in frustration. But she continued after the sound, determined to catch up with her invisible friend. But the smarmy little bastard was quick, and after a few seconds she realised she had lost them again.

"Fuck!"

She pushed harder, determined to keep up. Several long minutes passed, her lungs began to ache from the strain and water was flowing from her eyes in a steady stream from the biting cold. She passed an old looking building to her left; she recognised it as the Silent Hill Historical Society.

Someone laughed far ahead of her. She glanced up and saw the shape she had spotted before. They were closer now, and she could make out that it was a young boy, perhaps no older than five or six, darting off in the direction of Rosewater Park. She saw that he had a shock of unkempt, dark hair, and the way he rather cheekily bolted away from her, inviting her to chase him, was exactly like-

_Kieran._

"Hey!" She yelled after him, picking up speed as best she could. She was filled with a sudden, terrifying hope, one she knew to be impossible yet she could not bring herself to completely dismiss it, no matter how absurd. _That's not Kieran. He's dead. There's absolutely no way that was him…!_

Her feet pounded the asphalt furiously as she struggled to catch the phantom. Her lungs were burning now, but she continued on, following the shadow into the park. She tumbled out onto the small pier, gasping for breath. She could see him at the other end of the pier, near the concrete stairs. He was standing there, appearing to look serenely out over the expanse of the lake. Another shadow, large and slender, came up beside him. She couldn't make it out exactly, but it appeared to be a woman. There was a flash of blonde hair and what Eri surmised to be a dark pink coloured blouse as the woman bent over slightly towards the boy, speaking to him. The boy listened intently for a moment, and then took the woman's proffered hand. Together they began to slink back into the fog, away from her. Eri felt a stab of annoyance and made after them again.

Something scraped behind her. She spun around.

Something was coming out of the fog.

When it first began to emerge into sight she at first thought it was some kind of crippled animal, dragging itself towards her in a pitiful attempt to seek a morsel of food or affection. But then she saw it had hands. And the head was the wrong shape, it was rounded and human and holy fuck what is that?!!

It was ashen grey, skin sickly and putrid, and the body was bloated and deformed, with great swollen lumps of flesh rippling along its torso as it dragged itself towards her. Its legs appeared atrophied and dangled uselessly from the hideously distorted form, and it coughed and hacked in a sickly, diseased manner before belting out a full throated scream. The sound was gurgled and wet, and as she staggered away from it and felt in her pocket for the knife, she saw an explosion of water, mucus and blood spurt out of its mouth and onto the deck. _That's why it looks so bloated._ Some distant, detached part of her observed clinically. _It's full of all that liquid…_

It turned fully towards her, its white sightless eyes rolling in their sockets, and slithered forward at a frightening speed. She screamed and tried to jump out of its way, but it latched itself onto her right leg. Even through the material of her jeans she could feel how its flesh had a texture not quite unlike jelly. Its grip was deathly cold; even now she could feel the spreading numbness travelling up her leg and-

It burned. The cold was so strong it suddenly felt as though her leg was on fire. It felt like that entire part of her body was being snap frozen. Her mind flashed horrid images of frostbite, of limbs black and dead and having to be hacked off and she screamed in abject terror. Finally grasping the knife, she brought it around her body in an arc, managing to stab the creature in the face, the blade sinking into the dead flesh of its cheek. It wailed and let go with one of its hands to swipe at her. She withdrew the blade, and brought it round again, this time getting it in the flesh just underneath its pudgy chin. Putting her force behind it, she managed to heave the creature off her, shuddering with revulsion at the slimy feel of its body as she pushed against it. It landed on its side, mewling, and she descended upon it in frenzy, stabbing any available part of exposed flesh, blood and pus and water spattering out against the wood and on her hands, her face, her clothes. After a long moment it realised a gurgling sigh and appeared to deflate, a large pool of the puissant liquid forming beneath it. She staggered back, gasping and trembling, the knife still held out before her.

More scraping. She turned back and saw more shapes dragging themselves out of the fog towards her. Two, three…no, four of the goddamn things, heaving themselves towards her and shrieking their horrible wet screams.

She turned and ran, knowing that she could not hope to face so many of them with a pocket knife as her only weapon. The fact that they were incapable of actually walking or running didn't seem to faze them; they simply skittered and dragged themselves after her. She screamed and had to take a flying leap over one that emerged from the misty brush outlining the fringe of the park's forest to claw at her. She landed awkwardly, pain shooting up from her ankle as she twisted it, causing her to tumble and roll in the leaf-strewn dirt. The creature was upon her immediately, fumbling at her skin and clothes with desperate, slimy fingers. She kicked wildly at it with her good foot, and heard a satisfying yelp as her boot connected with its face. It relented just enough to give her time to scramble to her feet and make off into the park, hoping the trees and vegetation would provide her with enough cover to escape. But her ankle now prevented her from moving at top speed; her previous sprint now reduced to little more than a hurried, wobbling limp. The monsters pursued her relentlessly, she could hear them scrabbling through the dirt and grass. They were going to catch her.

Even as her terror soaked brain began to wrap itself around this horrifying concept, a lone siren began to wail forlornly off somewhere in the distance. The grey sky began to darken until she could see nothing ahead or behind her. She tripped over something and landed in the dirt, fingers gripping on soft soil as she tried to crawl. She heard something rustling in the dark, to her right, and she curled herself into a ball, a short, high-pitched scream slipping out from clenched teeth.

_I'm going to die._

Something bodily grabbed her and heaved her off the wet ground. There was a loud hissing and crackling, almost like the sound of static on a stereo. She fought against it, striking out with her fists and legs. Her fist connected with something warm and solid, earning her a low grunt. She was pulled forward; she envisioned the gaping maw of death, dripping and red, and she felt her entire body seize up as she awaited the blow that would undoubtedly kill her. So when she ended up clutched protectively against a warm chest instead of being ripped apart, she was a little surprised, to say the least. She couldn't help but let out a tiny squeak of fear though, as a voice whispered urgently into her ear.

"Stay still and be quiet."

She froze, recognizing the voice as belonging to the strange man from the hotel. Her heartbeat thudded powerfully in her ears; she could hear his too, her ear was pressed tightly against his chest, hammering almost in time to hers. The static sound continued, powerfully loud now, right next to her ear. Over it, she heard the snuffling of the monsters approaching their position and couldn't help but tremble. His grip around her tightened and he pressed his back closer against the tree he was leaning on.

She listened with overwhelming anxiety as dark shapes began to converge around them. Although she could barely see in the gloom, she could feel them. They shuffled around aimlessly, searching for their prey. She was barely able to suppress a shudder as one came with a couple of feet of them and sniffed around; she was sure it would discover them, but after a few tense moments it seemed to lose interest and withdraw. After a few minutes the other creatures also seemed to give up, the sounds of their agonized movements slowly disappearing as they crawled back into the depths of the park. As they left, the sound of static also began to fade, until finally it was silent.

A long moment passed. A huge wave of relief began to soak into her body, which quickly transformed into embarrassment when she realised she was still being held in the embrace of a man she didn't know and who and also seen her naked only hours before. She squirmed slightly, hoping to dislodge his grip on her without seeming to be ungrateful about the fact that he had just saved her life. Again.

"Hey…um, could you, like…"

He let go and stepped back abruptly; she noticed his scent for the first time, blood and dirt and the musky odour of sweat, and she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose just a little. Although she couldn't see his face she could tell he was staring intently at her.

"Can you walk?" His voice was soft, a hushed whisper.

"Um…not that well." She replied, equally as soft. "I fell and I think I might have…"

He stepped towards her again, and she had to stifle a yelp as he picked her up swiftly, turning to jog at a brisk pace in the opposite direction that the creatures had taken. She had to keep her head down to avoid the branches that whipped and snapped against her face, and after what seemed like a minute or so she was deposited back onto what felt like the wooden surface of the boardwalk. She heard water sloshing somewhere ahead of her; she thought she saw him jump down off the pier and into the water. She expected to hear the telltale splash, but there was only a wooden thunk as he landed on something solid. He turned and gently gripped her by the waist, lifted her up slightly and helped her down into what she realised was a small wooden boat. She felt rather than saw him push them away from the pier using one of the oars, and soon the boat began to float almost effortlessly away from the edge of the park, the only sounds being the movement of the oars against the water's surface as he rowed them further away from the shore. They continued like that for what seemed like a long time; him rowing along automatically and her just staring dumbly at the dark shape of him. After a moment he stopped, pulled the oars back up into the boat, and leaned towards her. She couldn't help but lean away from him, just slightly, and had to raise a hand to shield her eyes as a blinding light appeared.

After several seconds the spots before her eyes faded, and she lowered her hand to get her first good look at her unknown saviour. He was fiddling with the flashlight he had just turned on. His hair was cropped short and dirty blonde, matted and tangled with what appeared to be a substantial amount of dried blood. When he finally raised his head she saw his face was equally filthy, streaked with grime and dirt. The clothes he wore were in similar disarray, the old bomber jacket torn and spotted with dark streaks. Despite his haggard appearance, she could tell he was relatively young, probably still under thirty, and probably what most would consider to be attractive. It was his eyes, however, that drew her attention. They were a light blue, that in itself not all that remarkable. But it was the way he looked at her that caused a feeling not quite unlike overwhelming empathy to surge through her. They looked far too old for his young face; haunted and eerily hollow. They were the eyes of a man who had seen too much, endured too much. Eri felt a smile creeping onto her lips before she could stop it. Whether it was intended for his benefit or for her own, she could not be sure.

"It sure is nice to see another face around here."

He simply stared back at her, those sad eyes wide.

Eri coughed. "What's your name?"

He was silent for a moment, then a small, tentative smile of his own curved the corners of his lips, just barely. For a moment Eri thought she had only imagined it.

"James."

Again, any comments you have would be great.

Subverted.


End file.
